Transaction Layer Packet Address Compaction for In-Packet Error Correction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Improvements in interconnects for transaction layer packets increase bandwidth at the expense of weaker signal integrity, and error correction codes, while improving integrity, impose significant encoding overhead, degrading system performance.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for compacted addressing in transaction layer packets by identifying and removing low entropy address bits, allowing reclaimed bits to be used for error correction codes without increasing packet size, using counters and registers to determine and regenerate memory addresses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If error correction codes are added to improve signal integrity, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases due to significant encoding overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes low-entropy address bits from transaction layer packets before transmission. By identifying and eliminating redundant address information that carries minimal information content, the system reduces the packet size, creating space for error correction codes without increasing overall complexity. This extraction principle directly addresses the contradiction by removing unnecessary data that would otherwise consume bandwidth and increase encoding overhead.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of address representation by identifying low-entropy bits and transforming them into a more efficient format. By analyzing the entropy characteristics of address bits and removing those with low information content, the system transforms the address field from its original form to a compacted version, thereby creating space for error correction while maintaining the essential addressing functionality.
2Reliability
If packet size is increased to include more error correction data, then reliability is improved, but productivity decreases due to increased transmission overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts low-entropy address bits from the transaction layer packets, removing redundant information that does not contribute significantly to the addressing function. This extraction creates space within the existing packet structure to accommodate error correction codes without increasing the overall packet size, thereby maintaining transmission efficiency while improving communication integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent discards low-entropy address bits that carry minimal information content and recovers the space they occupied by using it for error correction codes. This discarding and recovering principle allows the system to improve reliability through error correction while maintaining productivity by keeping the packet size constant and avoiding increased transmission overhead.
3Productivity
If bandwidth is increased through interconnect improvements, then productivity is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to weaker signal integrity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes low-entropy address bits from packets transmitted over high-bandwidth interconnects. By eliminating redundant address information, the system creates space to incorporate error correction codes that compensate for the weaker signal integrity inherent in high-speed, high-bandwidth transmissions, thereby maintaining reliability while preserving the productivity benefits of increased bandwidth.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful effect of weaker signal integrity in high-bandwidth interconnects into a benefit by using the space freed from low-entropy address bits to add error correction codes. These codes specifically address the signal integrity issues introduced by high-speed transmission, transforming the disadvantage of bandwidth-driven signal degradation into an opportunity for targeted error correction.
Data Source
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AI summary
Compacted addressing for transaction layer packets, including: determining, for a first epoch, one or more low entropy address bits in a plurality of first transaction layer packets; removing, from one or more memory addresses of one or more second transaction layer packets, the one or more low entropy address bits; and sending the one or more second transaction layer packets.